St. Mother Teresa Catholic Academy (SMTCA, St. Mother Teresa, SMT, Mother Teresa, or Teresa for short); also known as by its former names Blessed Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School before 2016 and Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School in its inception is a Catholic

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. It serves the Malvern neighbourhood of

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

History

The founder of Missionaries of Charity

The school is named after Mother Teresa of Calcutta founded the Roman Catholic

religious congregation A religious congregation is a type of Religious institute (Catholic), religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from Religious order (Catholic), religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – i ...

Missionaries of Charity The Missionaries of Charity () is a Catholic centralised religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women established in 1950 by Mother Teresa, now known in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. , it consisted o ...

, which in 2012 consisted of over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries. Her

beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in 2003 following her death gave her the title "Blessed Teresa of Calcutta".Blessed Mother Teresa
. (2007). ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

''. Retrieved 30 May 2007.

Foundings

After the construction of several subdivisions in the Malvern area in the 1970s, Lester B. Pearson Collegiate Institute, the high school in that area, was opened in 1978. In its conception, on September 3, 1985, a new school in the

area of

was to be named '' Mary Ward''. Then trustee Harold Adams advocated for the new school to be named ''Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School''. Another school was built later, and that received the name

Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School (abbreviated Mary Ward C.S.S., MWCSS, MW, Mary Ward, or simply Ward) is a Catholic secondary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is administered by the Toronto Catholic District School Board, formerly the Me ...

. The ideals of the school's patroness and namesake,

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...

, became the inspiration for the school's motto. The first principal was George Iantorno, and the school initially had approximately 150 grade 9 students. The first four years were known as the "Tin Can" experience because the school was housed in relocatables and a port-o-pac located on Invergordon Avenue, close to the then newly opened St. Elizabeth Seton Elementary School. The expansionist era began with year five in 1989-90. A school filled with 650 students left the port-o-pac rooms and soon moved into the new structure of 984 pupils and doubled its enrolment. Mother Teresa's new facility was officially opened and blessed on April 29, 1990. As a result of the beatification, the board changed the school's name to ''Blessed Mother Teresa'' in 2003. Her subsequent canonization and enrolment increase attempt led the board to rebrand the school as ''St. Mother Teresa Catholic Academy'' in October 2016.

Location and community

54 Ethnic minorities are represented in its student population, reflecting the diverse Malvern community that the school serves. SMT stands at the corner of Sewells Road and McLevin Road, off Neilson Road between Sheppard Avenue East and Finch Avenue East. It is beside the Malvern Community and Recreational Centre, which also houses the Malvern Branch of the

Toronto Public Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2023 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other public library system internationally, making i ...

Academics

Courses taught at the school follow the Ontario Curriculum for Grades 9 through 12.

Athletics

* Junior Boys Basketball * Girls Basketball * Senior Boys Basketball - 2nd place at the AAAA

OFSAA The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) is an organization of student-athletes, teacher-coaches, student-coaches, teachers, principals, and sport administrators in Ontario, Canada. OFSAA is the second largest high school ath ...

championship in 2005, and 1st at the AAAA

championship in 2006 * Junior Girls Volleyball * Senior Girls Volleyball * Junior Boys Volleyball * Senior Boys Volleyball * Junior Boys Soccer * Senior Boys Soccer * Badminton * Table Tennis * Track and Field * Cross Country

References

External links

St. Mother Teresa Catholic AcademyTCDSB Portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mother Teresa Catholic Academic Toronto Catholic District School Board Educational institutions established in 1985 High schools in Toronto Education in Scarborough, Ontario Catholic secondary schools in Ontario 1985 establishments in Ontario Memorials to Mother Teresa